A Chance Encounter
by Clevingerrr
Summary: An Airborn/Boundless crossover. While waiting to pick up Kate from a train station, Matt bumps into a certain someone still reeling from his own recent adventures. Whether they are locked onto tracks or floating in the sky, there is always a middle ground for unlikely heroes to meet.


**A/N: After reading _The Boundless_ by Kenneth Oppel (who is also the author of the _Airborn_ trilogy), I knew that I had to write this. For those of you who haven't read it yet, _The Boundless_ is a novel focused around a boy named Will Everett, whose father conducts a massive train known as the Boundless. I won't go into too much detail, given my hatred of spoilers, but Will's talent for sketching and poor luck drag him into an adventure involving a traveling circus troupe and a tomb aboard the train. It's pretty good, but what fascinated me is that locations from _Airborn_ are referenced occasionally in the novel, making it seem like they exist within the same universe. Consider this an epilogue of sorts to both books.**

**As far as I know, there's no individual section for _The Boundless _(making a crossover listing impossible), and the _Airborn_ fanfiction section is sort of dead. So, this is going into the more-active _Skybreaker_ section. That is sort of odd: why divide a three-book series into two different listings when it would be more beneficial to lump them together?**

**Obligatory disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to any characters featured in this fanfic. I am not Kenneth Oppel. With all of that out of the way, enjoy!**

* * *

"Kate's going to be late again," I said to myself, checking my watch for the umpteenth time just to be sure I had gotten the time right.

Then again, why did I expect anything else? Kate had a knack for arriving ridiculously late to anything I invited her to. Whether it was a fancy restaurant in the Eiffel Tower or a short walk to an observatory, something always seemed to go wrong that would force her to arrive later than we planned. I had even arrived half an hour late to pick her up from the Lionsgate City Train Station, and I never saw her walk out of the first-class train car in almost an hour!

In her defense, this wasn't an ordinary passenger train she had hitched a ride on. She had ridden on the Boundless, a massive multi-mile long train that rode on the new Intercontinental Railroad the Canadian government had recently finished working on. It reached three stories up in some areas, and probably carried at least a thousand people on its maiden voyage. Kate could have gotten lost on the way out, or been distracted by someone or something on-board. What if she was talking to another boy during the ride? I started to fume at the thought, before realizing how absurd the entire idea was. If I was going to be a good boyfriend to Kate, I'd have to keep my jealous side in check.

I had to admit, the Boundless was impressive to look at. It was practically a moving city, not unlike Grunnel's plans for building a flying city with his Prometheus Engine. It could probably house even more people than the _Aurora _could at maximum capacity, and not worry about maintaining hydrium levels while on the move. From what I had read, it just used good, old-fashioned coal to power its massive engines. With that being said, it didn't hold a candle to the beauty and grace of an airship. While the Boundless was trapped forever on a set of tracks, an airship like the _Aurora_ could fly anywhere it needed, like a whale swimming aimlessly in the ocean. It had complete freedom of movement, which I could always appreciate.

I walked closer to the first-class train cars, trying to catch a glimpse of Kate anywhere among the few people still standing around the station. Most of them were standing around and talking with each other. Strangely enough, there was a red-haired boy around my age sitting on a nearby curb, sketching something out on a large canvas. He looked focused on the sight of the sunset reflecting off of Lionsgate's City's skyscrapers. I carefully sidestepped him, not wanting to interrupt the view for him.

There was still no sign of Kate. What in the world was taking her so long? I couldn't get on-board without a ticket, but maybe if I could get a bit closer…

"Hey, you're in my spot," a voice called out from behind me. Turning around, I saw the boy from earlier. I must have been directly blocking his view.

"Sorry," I muttered, stepping out of the way for him. Looking closer at him, he looked a little younger than me. His head was marked with bruises, and it looked like there was some paint smeared around the corners of his face. Was he on the Boundless when Kate was? If that was the case, what all went on during that ride, anyway?

"It ain't a problem," he said, looking me over curiously. He had stopped sketching, and had moved the canvas to face me. "In fact, it looked better with you in it. Could you do that thing you were just doing?"

I wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about. "What do you mean, 'that thing I was doing?'"

"You had this pose going on that, I don't know, just seemed courageous. It looked like you were a natural-born hero or something. I know it's odd, but could you just hold that for another minute while I finish up the outlining?"

After sort-of killing Spirzglas, I slowly got used to strangers recognizing me and acting like they knew everything about me. This was the first time someone had asked to sketch me out, though, and this person didn't even recognize me! Granted, I was bundled-up a bit, but still...

While I should have been looking for Kate, I didn't see a reason to turn his offer down. She probably wasn't going to turn up for another half-hour, anyway. "Sure, why not?" I said, trying to re-create the how I looked while scanning the Boundless' exits for Kate.

He got to work immediately, pencil flying up and down the canvas like a composer leading his orchestra on. His brow curled up in concentration, not once stopping to erase any mistakes. "Going well so far!" he shouted at me. "This'll be perfect practice for San Francisco!"

He didn't sound like an American to me. He had more of a Canadian twang to the way he spoke, although it was more noticeable than my own. "Just curious, why are you going all the way down there?"

"Two reasons! First, I'll be going to art school down there soon enough. Second, I'm going to be visiting a friend of mine who'll be living there. I'm hoping to fill out a sketchbook for her by the time I get to San Francisco!"

I kept my eyes pointed at the doors of the Boundless, hoping to see Kate pop her head out at any point. Did I mention she was incredibly late already? "It sounds like she means a lot to you!"

"Sort of. It's tough to explain." He crinkled up as he asked me, "I know this sounds off, but have you ever been dragged into a wild adventure by a girl you can't take your mind off?"

That sounded awfully familiar to me. "You have no idea…" I said to him.

He poked his head out from behind the canvas. "That's happened to you, too?"

"Three times, actually. In fact, the way things are going, I think it'll happen again soon!"

He had stopped drawing, and was now glancing over the canvas. I dropped the pose he wanted me to hold, but he didn't seem to pay it any mind. Had he finished that quickly? I hadn't been standing for more than a couple of minutes!

"It's done!" he said, waving at me. "Come over and take a look!"

Moving behind him to get a closer look, I was greeted by a pretty accurate drawing of the panoramic view of Lionsgate City, with me standing in front and looking like some sort of wind-swept hero. I let out a respectful whistle, impressed by his skills with the pencil. Even the minor details were captured in the sketch. Although, I thought I had a better haircut than the larger, bushier hair that my sketched counterpart had.

"I'm guessing you like it?" he asked.

"How couldn't I? It's fantastic!"

"Glad to hear it." He rolled up the paper and handed it to me. "In fact, why don't you keep it?"

I had to admit, his offer caught me off-guard. "Wait, are you serious?" Was I supposed to say yes, or would it be friendlier to turn him down?

"It's nothing, really. I was just doing it for practice."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Kate stepping off of the Boundless, strolling out as if nothing were wrong. She had on a dirty white sundress, and was carrying a brown satchel that looked like it was stuffed to the brim. She looked like she wasn't hurt by any of the supposed accidents the train had on the way here. She turned towards where I was, shouting, "Matt, there you are!" as she ran over to me.

"I'm guessing that's your girl?" the boy asked me, packing up his stand and pencils. He put the sketch back into my hands, saying, "Just keep it. I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

I was about to thank him, then I remembered that I didn't even know his name. "I never caught your name!" I said to him as he started to walk away.

"My name's Will Everett. How 'bout yours?"

"Matt Cruse, actually."

He looked like he was in shock. "Wait, you're Matt Cruse? The one who found the _Hyperion_, and saved the _Starclimber_?" I nodded at both questions. "God…it was an honor to finally meet you in person, Matt. Hopefully, I'll get a better chance to talk with you later on!" With that, Will ran back into the Boundless' front traincar, just as Kate finally reached me.

Before I could even get one word out, Kate started talking. "Matt, I have so much to tell you about! For now, though…" she felt around in her bag, pulling out something long and white. "…I think this will speak for itself. This is going right into my collection!"

I ran my fingers along the object. It was smooth and polished, ending in a sharp point on one side and in a flat, jagged surface on the other. Whatever it was, it had to have been broken off its source with considerable force. "It feels like a bone. What is it, exactly?"

"A sasquatch tooth, freshly removed!" Out of her satchel came a pair of slightly bloodied pliers. I didn't want to know how they ended up stained, although I was probably going to hear about it later. "Since I was never able to get my hands on that stuffed yeti, I've been looking to document their distant relatives, the sasquatches. No much research has been done on their physiology, so I've been photographing them throughout the ride up here. I have a plethora of notes on their habits and traits, and I hope to send my findings to the Zoological Society of London soon enough." Kate's eyes brightened as she added, "They won't be able to dismiss my claims so easily this time! There were hundreds of witnesses on the Boundless that saw the sasquatches."

"I'm just glad you made it back safely, Kate!"

Kate wrapped her arms tightly around me, reminding me of how dearly I missed that feeling. I was more than willing to return the favor, resting my head against hers all the while. "I wish you could have been there, Matt. I would have loved riding the Boundless with you."

I had a decent amount of money saved from the Hyperion salvaging, and the wages I had been getting from repairing the Astral Cable put me in a much better spot than I was stuck in when I first met Kate. But, old habits die hard, and I couldn't help but be thrifty with my money. First-class tickets for the Boundless seemed like a luxury at first, but now that I thought about it, they would barely put a dent in my wallet. "I know. Believe me, I'll join you next time."

Our hug broke apart, though I could still feel the warmth from it all over. "I certainly hope so. You deserve a break after everything we've been through together!" Noticing the rolled-up paper in my hands, she asked, "What's that?"

I unrolled Will's sketch of me by the train station, flanked by a beautiful sunset and the high-rise skyscrapers of Lionsgate City. "A boy named Will drew this while I was waiting for you for a couple of hours. He said I could keep it."

"That's amazing! Look at how detailed everything is! Your clothes, the rust peeling off the signs nearby…wait, I kept you waiting for two hours?" The look on my face must have said it all. "I'm so sorry! I was busy trying to convince the conductor to let me haul off a sasquatch carcass from the train! He kept insisting that I would raise a scene dragging that across the city, but I told him it was only for scientific purposes! I must have lost track of the time…"

Well, that explained a lot. It still didn't make me feel any less miffed for waiting out in the cold that long, but I could never stay mad at Kate for that long. "…And I guess you both settled on bringing a tooth instead?" I asked her.

"As far as I'm concerned, incomplete evidence is far better than no evidence. The brakemen would tell stories about sasquatch encounters, but there have been no dissections or detailed studies of their physiology so far. They tend to recover their dead before we can, which makes it much harder to do anything of the sort with their kind." She took a second look at the drawing, stroking her chin curiously as if she was in deep thought. Then, she jabbed the space above my sketch's head, saying, "I have to say, I think your hair looks nicer in this."

"You think it looks better in that?" My hand ran over my smooth, short hair in response.

"Just teasing, Matt!" she said, breaking into giggles. "It's nothing to worry about. Anyway, I should probably get going back home. It is awfully late."

Without either of us noticing, the remaining people around the Boundless had left, leaving us as the last ones still in the departure zone. The sky had grown dark, and the frigid, cold air of the night had swept in already. To be clear, we were supposed to be out of here long before any of this could set in.

"I'll have a lot explaining to do when we get there," I muttered.

Kate's arm looped around mine. "No, we'll have a lot of explaining to do. Don't forget, I'll be supporting you the whole time."

Kate's support was all the reassurance I needed. Nervously, my eyes darted around the train station, making sure that no one else was here, before my lips met hers in a brief kiss. Her eyes looked into mine, all love and concern, and that fluttering in my stomach that I had missed so much returned. It was good to have her back.

"Good," I said, leaving the station with our arms still linked, "I'd want it no other way!"


End file.
